London 2012 Table Tennis final ends
London 2012 table tennis final ended in controversy Wednesday after Ding Ning sobbed and accused an umpire of ruining her Olympic dream when she lost the table tennis gold medal to compatriot Li Xiaoxia.
Li emerged a 4-1 winner from a tense and tetchy encounter in which the favourite Ding was put through the emotional wringer after she was punished with three penalty points that left her railing at Italian official Paola Bongelli.
“I didn’t do very well today. I had an obstacle and not only from the opponent but from the judge,” Ding said, trying to choke back the sobs.
Serve penalties are a rarity in table tennis, but Ding was penalised twice for not throwing the ball up vertically.
After the second penalty at 7-2 down in the fourth, she walked away from the table exasperated, and received a red card and a third penalty point for towelling herself down at the wrong moment in the match.
Unflustered, Li kept her cool and finished off her opponent 11-8 14-12 8-11 11-6 11-4 after 51 minutes of high-octane action.
“This is the best I have ever played,” the 24-year-old Li said after stepping onto the podium to have the gold medal hung around her neck.
“I am very excited. This has been my dream since being a little girl. I dreamed of being an Olympic champion, we are the same level, but today I performed better than expected.
”My family are in China. I want to thank my parents. They have sacrificed a lot to make my dreams come true.“
